


The Conqueror’s Prize

by Joel7th



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Canon Disabled Character, It's neither non-con nor dubcon, M/M, Protective Erik
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-15 08:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20863067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joel7th/pseuds/Joel7th
Summary: “You are here for one purpose only, Marko. Where is the prize you have promised me in exchange for your life, the Jewel of Westchester? Do you intend to keep me waiting?”Erik defeated Kurt Marko and conquered Westchester. Kurt offered him a prize so that his life would be spared. The prize was Charles.





	The Conqueror’s Prize

Kurt Marko rubbed his chubby hands together, finding them clammy. He had half a heart to wipe them at the front of his breeches but decided against it. He wasn’t the one to get worked up about appropriety, quite the opposite actually, but such gesture was a tell-tale sign of his anxiety rearing its ugly head, and he absolutely loathed to give the man before him the satisfaction of seeing the Lord Marko jittering with fear, though he doubted Lehnsherr had already, if the light quirk of his lips was any indication. His pale eyes were looking down on Kurt as the man himself was sitting on an elevated wrought-iron chair – or should he say ‘throne’, and Kurt couldn’t shake the feeling of being stalked by a shark, waiting with uncharacteristic patience for him to make one wrong move and spill his blood. Dozens snakes of sweat were slithering along his spine, sticking his dampened silk undershirt to his skin. He wished he hadn’t donned this particular ornate coat, made from finest wool and lined with fox fur. It was excellent in fighting the chill outside but here, inside, with the windows all bolted and the fire crackling in the fireplace, it was stifling. A few traitorous beads were forming at his brows as his heart was palpating and his breaths came out short and uneven. Kurt knew the heat wasn’t all to blame.

“So, my lord—” Kurt began, only to be rudely cut off.

“Save that shit for some actual lord. I am no noble.”

“As you wish, my liege—”

“I am not your liege, nor are you my vessel,” Lehnsherr said with a bored note. “I aim to keep it that way.”

Kurt rubbed his hands harder. “Then, if you would be so kind as to instruct me on how I should address you without offence.”

Lehnsherr sneered, casting a brief glance at the young woman by his right to find her expression mirroring his own. She was a lovely little thing, with dove’s eyes and wavy blond tresses tied in a high ponytail. Her shoulders, bared by her hairstyle and her scanty choice of attire, were covered in symmetrical tattoos. Kurt’s eyes were magnetized to the voluptuous curve of her bosoms for but a second before he forced himself to tear his gaze from her tempting flesh. She might look like a pretty bird perching on Lehnsherr’s shoulder and chirping to his tune but Kurt knew she was anything but. It was the tip of this woman’s sword he’d had the displeasure of getting acquainted with when she strode into the throne room, Lehnsherr’s men in tow.

“Bloody Erik. Erik The Berserker. The Foreign Barbarian. Mad Mongrel,” Lehnsherr said. “Anything you say behind my back you are welcome to say before my face.”

“I wouldn’t dare—”

“You are here for one purpose only, Marko. Where is the prize you have promised me in exchange for your life, the Jewel of Westchester? Do you intend to keep me waiting?”

“I have no such thought, sir. He’s right here, in this room,” Kurt replied, dipping his head in what he thought passed for a proper bow. But Lehnsherr wouldn’t be able to tell, would he? As one of his monikers suggested, he had never spent a minute of his life in a court and was thus unfamiliar with the formalities. Kurt gestured to his two servants waiting in a corner, who wore the Xavier family crest on their grey doublets. Mutely they carried out a stretcher on which was lying a young man clad in a simple but elegant milky garb cut precisely to accentuate his figure. His eyes were shut and his fine eyebrows were relaxed; he would look a fine painting of Sleeping Beauty if not for his bound wrists. They laid the stretcher down on the ground and retreated.

Kurt’s heart skipped a bear when he saw the blaze in Lehnsherr’s eyes. It did not stem from lust as Kurt would be familiar with lust and thus unnerved, but rather from rage. There were enough harrowing tales of Lehnsherr’s rage to keep a brave man awake at night, so Kurt knew better than to invoke it. He just had no idea in what way he had.

Fortunately Lehnsherr’s patience was rather short so he wouldn’t keep Kurt guessing. “What’s the meaning of this?” he growled, his features hardening as his eyes became twin blades aiming at the older man.

Kurt resisted the urge to resume rubbing his hands together. He inhaled a lungful and spoke, “That is Charles Xavier, the Lordling of Westchester and the Jewel you demanded.”

“I have eyes, Marko. Why is he lying there like a goddamned cadaver?”

“He is perfectly fine, I assure you. But the brat wouldn’t comply so some sleeping wine was in order. He’ll wake in another hour or two. The bondage is merely safety measure.”

“Careful, Marko,” Lehnsherr warned, his eyes traveling from Kurt to the unconscious young man. “The ‘brat’ outranks you in every way and he could easily have your tongue if he wished.”

_As I could._ The implication was clear.

“I am his father and until he turns 25, he’s under my authority.”

“Stepfather,” Lehnsherr said coolly. “And that is soon to change. Azazel, cut him free.”

A tall, imposing man with a scarred face stepped out from the shadow which he seemed to have blended in, gave his leader a light nod and approached the sleeping Charles. He spared Kurt no glance as he went on one knee and unsheathed his curved blade. He span it in his hand before bringing the blade down, severing the thick, leather knot in one neat cut.

The painting of Sleeping Beauty, now flawless.

Kurt eyed Lehnsherr’s henchman return to his post at his left side with ire. Anger flared in him, pressing his fear and anxiety down so that courage momentarily filled his breast. He lifted his chin and dared look Lehnsherr in the eyes. “If I were you, I would keep the cord,” Kurt said, slipping a mocking note in his tone. “He can be quite feisty when awake but it looks like you fancy them a tad feisty.”

Considering how Lehnsherr had displayed his temper so far, Kurt expected at least some threats and steeled himself for them; however, Lehnsherr seemed to entirely disregard his remark and turned to the young woman, whose name Kurt would later learn to be Raven – only Raven, no last name or title. “See to it that he’s cared for. If he wakes and needs anything, tend to it. Also, keep him calm until I come.”

Raven had a hand on her hip as she arched an eyebrow. “In your sleeping quarter, I guess?”

“Yes, Raven,” Lehnsherr said, exasperated but without menace. “On the bed as well. _And with clothes_.”

The last sentence was said almost as an afterthought.

Raven chuckled and patted his shoulder, her hand lingering on him a bit longer than necessary. “Sure, Erik. As you wish.” With that she left his side, gesturing with her long, nimble fingers for two men to carry Charles and follow her. Erik watched her back until she disappeared from sight, a look as close to fondness as it could get softening his steely features.

“Sir, about our deal...”

When Lehnsherr’s attention returned to Kurt, so did the shark look. The air in the chamber condensed and suddenly Kurt’s collar felt too tight on his throat. He wanted to loosen it but was afraid in doing so he’d loosen his courage as well.

“It’s not a deal, Marko, because a deal suggests a fair exchange between two parties with equal footing, which is definitely not what we have here.”

His anger and courage had already fled, leaving him sagged in the layers of his clothes. “But, sir, I thought if I brought you my stepson—”

“And I agreed to let you get out of Westchester with your head and limbs intact.” A beat. Lehnsherr’s hard-cut mouth stretched into a humorless smile, showing a hint of his teeth. “You’re allowed to take the same things you bought with you when you stepped foot on Westchester’s shore.”

Kurt sucked in sharp breath and a tremor shook him to his core. Hiding in his wide sleeve, his right hand squeezed his left so hard he could hear his bones groan in protest. The pain should keep them from trembling and him from passing out. “You can’t possibly do that!”

“Oh, but I can, Marko. Need I remind you that you were squashed in the battle? Everything that belonged to you, if they ever belonged to you at all, is now mine. And if I want you to go with only the clothes on your back and a single horse, you will do. That’s considerably more generous than you ever were with those you forced into exile.”

Kurt gnashed his teeth and his right hand released its left counterpart to ball into a fist. Every of Lehnsherr’s word was salt rubbing into his gasping wound, and it stung all the more because it was glaring truth. Kurt had lost the battle even before it began due to his soldiers’ conspiracy: when Lehnsherr’s savages charged, they dropped their swords and shields; those who refused, few as they were, were either subdued by their own peers or slain by their enemies. It was nothing sort of extraordinary that an army which had gained a notoriety across the continent for bloodlust and destruction had managed to conquer a land with minimum bloodshed.

Later, historians would put down in ink that Westchester had surrendered herself to the barbarian reign, even offering her ruler to be bent over and mounted like a brood mare. It was perhaps the only salve to Kurt’s wound that he would have no part in this massive shame.

“However, if you are so adamant in keeping your possessions, you are welcome to fight for them. Either of my captains, Azazel or Janos, will oblige you,” Lehnsherr said.

“Gladly,” Azazel replied curtly, punctuating with a grin bordering on mania. The long scar over his ice-colored eye looked like a blade itself, eager to strike. Beside him stood a dark-haired man wearing a scarless face that appeared to be carved out of marble. He nodded his silent agreement.

Kurt’s bowels clenched, threatening to empty out; he needed no mirror to tell his face had turned green. His palms sweated profusely. Although he didn’t knew this pair of men personally, he _knew_ them – anyone who had clashed with Lehnsherr on the battlefield should, really. The Devil and The Whirlwind, and they were every bit ruthless as their nicknames suggested when they ripped through their opponents and added to Lehnsherr’s blood-soaked legacy. There was no man Kurt could bribe to challenge those two demons in a duel. As for Kurt himself, well, he wasn’t dull enough to not understand the odds.

“No, sir, I am content to have my head on my shoulders,” Kurt wheezed our, bowing, the air weighing on his shoulders and back. He felt very old and senile like all of sudden he’d aged a decade.

“Wise,” Lehnsherr commented dryly.

“I am to understand that my presence isn’t welcome here, so if you would excuse me, I will take my leave right now.”

He was about to turn on his heels when Lehnsherr’s voice entered his ears. “Not too hurried, Marko.”

Confused, Kurt looked up to Lehnsherr, who was having his left hand out, palm up. “Azazel.”

As though he got Lehnsherr’s order without having to actually hear it, Azazel took his blade by his belt and carefully placed it in his leader’s waiting hand.

A chilling premonition hit Kurt like a gale, nearly knocking him to the ground.

“I have no desire to see you in Westchester, or anywhere my power extends,” Lehnsherr said, gripping the handle of the blade. His gaze traveled along the edge as though examining its sharpness. A glint in his eyes spoke of approval. “A couple years from now, people may already forget how you look like, but I doubt they will ever not recognize a face specifically marked. So, a little gift for your safe departure.”

...

It was rare to have a quiet moment for himself with all the warring and conquering affairs taking the majority of his time but at the moment, Erik was reclining on his bed, covered by several animal pelts and thus adequately warm, a book propped on his abdomen. He was on page fifty and so engrossed in his reading like he had not been for a while. It was an interesting read, this warfare script he had unearthed from a deserted nook of Westchester’s grand library, with a crisp and to-the-point style that he much preferred over flowery superfluousness. Whoever wrote this – the author was anonymous, for safety purposes, perhaps? – had some intriguing points that Erik mentally took note for future reference. Considering its sorely neglected state when he had found it, this script might not have been touched by a human hand since forever, which explained Westchester’s military strength, or lack thereof. That and the fact that her de facto ruler was a lousy tactician at best and a spineless wimp at worst. Erik had gained no pleasure in defeating such a man, especially when his soldiers had mostly surrendered beforehand. Since Westchester’s capitulation, Erik had been contemplating several ways her defense and offense could be strengthened now that the usurper had been usurped and the power restored to her rightful ruler, who had been for years under his stepfather’s subjugation and yet somehow managed to thrive like an undercurrent.

At the moment, said ruler was the other occupant of Erik’s bed, slumbering soundly and showing no sign of waking so far. His profile, haloed by the candlelight, provided a much welcoming respite for his strained eyes when Erik stopped looking at the yellowed page and faded text. That proved to be a grievous mistake for he found it difficult to direct his attention back to the prose, distracted by Charles’s slightly parted lips. They looked parched, their usual glossiness lost by dehydration. Erik frowned, marked the page and set the book on the nightstand, where a jug of water stood with a wooden cup. He reached for the jug and poured some of its content over his fingers. Carefully he dabbed the liquid on Charles’s lips, relieving part of the dryness. A lock of chestnut hair fell on Charles’s forehead, and Erik brushed it aside, his fingers lingering on the young man’s smooth skin for a moment. No one, least of all Kurt, could have imagined Erik The Berserker capable of such tender care. Charles’s stepfather’s intention was clear that he had offered him as a whore for Erik to use and abuse as he pleased, and he would pass Charles to his captains and soldiers once he got fed up with the young man. The thought made Erik’s blood boil. As if he would permit any forms of violation to happen to Charles, not while he was still standing, armed or bare-handed; in fact, Erik would have anyone maimed or even decapitated for even thinking about laying a finger on Charles. Starting with Kurt Marko, probably. Allowing that slimy bastard to roam retribution-free was a decision Erik was starting to regret.

Charles suddenly stirred, alerting Erik. A breathless whimper escaped his lips as his brows creased and his eyelids fluttered. It took a few seconds for his eyes to open and he groaned, immediately bringing one hand up to seal them. “Water, please,” Charles pled.

Erik reached for the wooden cup and filled it with water. He helped Charles sit up and handed Charles the cup, which he downed in one gulp and choked. “Easy,” Erik said, patting his back. When Charles stopped coughing, Erik poured another cup, but this time he held the cup to Charles’s mouth to make sure the younger man wouldn’t drink too fast, a gesture Charles did not protest. Once his thirst was sated, Charles’s tongue darted out to lick his moist lips. He nursed the empty cup in his hands and beamed at Erik. “Thank you, my friend,” he said, leaning in to land a quick peck on the side Erik’s mouth. “How long have I been out?”

“Roughly two hours since Kurt brought you here. I don’t know before that.”

Massaging his temple, he muttered, “Damn. The stuff he used is potent. I felt something was fishy when my attendant brought the bloody wine in. Should have been more careful and listened to my gut instinct.”

Erik hooked a finger under Charles’s chin and fixed him an amused look. “Really, Charles? You fought so hard Kurt had to give you sleeping wine? You were that opposed to going to my side?”

“I had to keep up the ruse, alright? If I had been nonchalant about the whole ‘being sold to a brutal warlord to be a potential slave’ thing, Kurt would have suspected. Between his desperation and my crippled legs, I wouldn’t have stood a chance of survival.”

Erik scoffed. “That’s why I told you we should go with my initial plan. Stomping the castle, bringing Kurt to his knees, claiming you as my prize, done. No need for this ludicrous pretense.”

“That would have villainized you in my people’s eyes, my friend,” Charles said, shaking his head. “There should be only one villain in this tale and that is Kurt.”

Erik grinned, all teeth. “And you had me become the dashing hero to liberate Westchester from his tyranny. Can’t say I found the role agreeable.”

Charles smiled coyly and shrugged. “It worked well enough, didn’t it? My plan wouldn’t have succeeded if Kurt had been a decent ruler.”

“No, you’ve earned their love and trust over the years and they’d have listened to you anyway. That they had enough faith in you to surrender to an ill-reputed warlord is solid proof.”

Charles’s cheeks colored. “You don’t give yourself enough credits, my friend. After all, you did keep your promise of minimizing the casualties,” he said, cupping Erik’s face in his hands and for a moment it looked like he intended to press their lips together. The kiss didn’t come but Erik closed his eyes nonetheless, indulging himself in the warmth emitting from Charles. Erik had been born with a body temperature that was a bit lower than normal, resulting in his skin getting cool in certain places like his feet and cheeks so Charles’s body heat was always a delight. Then he noticed something: weren’t Charles’s skin a little too warm?

“Are you feeling alright, Charles?” He caught Charles’s wrists in one broad hand while the other brushed back his dark hair to touch his forehead. It was damp with perspiration and even warmer than his hands.

“Actually I’m not,” Charles said with a heavy sigh. “I’ve been feeling quite hot since I woke but I thought it was the fire. And there’s a tingling sensation under my skin, which has grown from uncomfortable to almost unbearable.” The blushes on his cheeks turned into crimson and he lowered his head as if to hide them. He looked like he would shift his legs if he could move them, but it might just be Erik’s imagination.

Erik frowned, putting his index and middle fingers under Charles’s jawline. “Your pulses are erratic and too fast. Your pupils are blown. Are you sure sleeping potion was the only thing Kurt put in your drink?”

Charles’s eyes widened and Erik could witness the exact moment realization started to dawn on his face. “Damn,” he gritted out, his fingers crumpling his sleeve like the act somehow could ease his discomfort. “I wouldn’t put it past Kurt to have pulled something like that. I’ve seen him do that enough with the poor wenches.”

Erik suspected he had an inkling of what Charles said; still, he asked, “What is ‘something like that’?”

“Aphrodisiac” was Charles’s curt answer.

“Fuck,” Erik growled, swinging his long legs over the bed.

Charles grabbed his biceps before he could move another inch; it never failed to amaze Erik how such frail-looking arm could hold such strength. “Where’re you going?”

“Fetch Janos. He’ll deal with this.”

“What?” Charles blurted out, his red-rimmed eyes wide as saucers and his mouth hanging open. ‘Outrageous’ was written all over his flushed face.

“He’s our unofficially appointed physician,” Erik explained, just now catching on Charles’s misunderstanding. “The best we have, actually. I’m going after Kurt myself, promises be damned.”

Charles’s grip, if possible, got even more forceful. There was a dull pressure and Erik wouldn’t be surprised to see a bruise there come tomorrow. “While I appreciate your defending my honor, I’d rather you stay here with me. It’s aphrodisiac, so I doubt Janos can do anything about it, no offense to his skills.”

That was a rather straightforward suggestion which Erik wasn’t too thickheaded to catch. His eyes lit up. “Are you sure about it? Because I’m pretty sure you were adamant about the ‘no copulation outside wedlock’ rule.”

Erik knew he’d questioned Charles out of pettiness but he couldn’t help it after several times having his advances subtly and outright rebuffed by Charles. It wasn’t that his feelings for the Lord of Westchester were unreciprocated as he had initially misinterpreted (and been wounded by it but Erik would never admit); it was just Charles’s strict upbringing compelling him to suppress his desires whenever they flared and more than once Erik had accused him of cockblocking himself. Charles had chided for his vulgarity but never rebuked.

Charles looked deadly cross and Erik would be slightly worried that Charles might murder him on the spot if it weren’t for his rosy cheeks, labored breathing and hoarse voice. Damn if he didn’t found an aroused Charles very arousing. Then he remembered that Charles had been drugged and felt mildly guilty.

“You’re seriously using that against me now? Or must I beg?”

Erik would conquer seven nations just to hear Charles beg but the wiser part of him – the part least affected by his rampant libido – reined his mouth just in time before he signed himself up for a lifetime of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. “Sorry,” he said, sitting back down the bed, his thigh touching Charles’s. Through the material of his breeches, he could still feel Charles’s feverish skin. “Just need to make sure you wouldn’t regret this later and smoother me when I’m in post-coital bliss. That would be an embarrassing, if somehow gratifying, way to go.”

Charles huffed and grabbed a fistful of Erik’s linen shirt, pulling him close, and Erik let him because the benevolent and peace-loving Charles acting aggressive and even violent was his Achilles heel. “I would regret it more if tonight I ended up having an aphrodisiac-induced death. That would be way more mortifying.”

Charles swiped his tongue across Erik’s lower lip. “And the smothering part wouldn’t happen if I wanted a second, perhaps a third or fourth, would it?”

Erik grinned from ear to ear. Even taking the richest land in the continent couldn’t plaster such a wide grin on his face like having Charles’s permission to ravish him to his heart’s content. The drug part somewhat dampened his enthusiasm, as he had always wanted their first time to be special and definitely not an emergency fuck, but he’d be damned if he allowed it to tamper his passion. So, he swept it to a corner of his mind to dwell on later – when he dealt with Kurt Marko properly, which involved a copious amount of blood and screaming, and focused entirely on Charles.

“I’d have to try my best then,” Erik said, and smashed his lips with Charles’s.

_End_


End file.
